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Blues lyrics contain some of the most fantastically penetrating
autobiographical and revealing statements in the Western musical
tradition. For instance, the complexity of ideas implicit in Robert
Johnson\'s \'Come In My Kitchen,\' such as a barely concealed desire,
loneliness, and tenderness, and much more:
You better come in my kitchen, It\'s gonna be rainin\' outdoors. Blues
lyrics are often intensely personal, frequently contain sexual
references and often deal with the pain of betrayal, desertion, and
unrequited love or with unhappy situations such as being
jobless, hungry, broke, away from home, lonely, or downhearted because
of an unfaithful lover.
The early blues were very irregular rhythmically and usually followed
speech patterns, as can be heard in the recordings made in the twenties
and thirties by the legendary bluesmen Charley Patton, Blind Lemon
Jefferson, Robert Johnson and Lightnin\' Hopkins among others. The meter of the blues is usually written in iambic pentameter. The first
line is generally repeated and third line is different from the first two. The repetition of the first line serves a purpose as it gives the
singer some time to come up with a third line. Often the lyrics of a blues song do not seem to fit the music, but a good blues singer will
accent certain syllables and eliminate others so that everything falls nicely into place.
The structure of blues lyrics usually consists of several three-line
verses. The first line is sung and then repeated to roughly the same
melodic phrase, the third line has a different melodic phrase.
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